I remember telling (lying to) my mother saying I was sick so I could stay home from school and watch the entire MASS Device show. The station decided to air it at like 9am, well after school started.

That's awesome!

Quote:

Originally Posted by skinny

That was Saturday afternoon. No school.

Even better!!!!
In NYC almost toy based cartoons were syndicated (I believe MotU set that precedent of I have that right) Monday through Friday, from around 2:30-3 PM. I think the only toy based cartoons that I recall being on Saturday mornings were the Smurfs, Dungeons and Dragons, and WWF. But many may argue that the latter 2 were very loosely based on their respective toy lines. But I digress, and don't want to derail the topic of the thread.

Like pretty much everyone else I feel the obvious connection between GI Joe and happy childhood memories. My dad was in the Army - my brothers and I grew up in an army family and GI Joes were the main toy we were all into together and shared with each other.

GI Joe was pretty much a constant in my life from as far back as I can remember through my teens years, off and on in college and my life after college. I can tie so many childhood memories to GI Joe - trading Joes with friends, getting them for Christmas, Birthdays and the annual trips to my grandparents house when my dad would take me and my little brother to toys r us and we would get to pick 4 figures each, playing with them for hours on end. Being a military kid I had some tough times with the moving and they were always around to offer me an escape or distraction when I was isolated or alone into my teen years. With all the moves I made until the one when I was a freshman in high school my tupperware container of joes always came with me and was not boxed up and thrown in the moving van - it also came with me on all my trips.

Outside of the obvious nostalgic connection I also was always into all things military and I have always equated GI Joe as the perfect combination of realism and imagination for action figures. Nothing else comes close. I was never into comics or any other action figures to the degree I was into GI Joe because of the realistic military aspect. To this day I still think GI Joe represents that best balance.

I am not the avid collector many of you are and have none of the talent many of you guys do with your amazing customs but I still feel that we all share that common interest that brings us all here. Whatever the future of GI Joe (and I hope there is one in the 3 3/4" universe) it is good to have this place to share our love of a fantastic toy line.

Same here. My dad was a Marine pilot in Vietnam, so he enjoyed buying things like the Dragonfly and MOBAT. My brother was more into Joe, and the more realistic characters like Recondo and Ripcord that had more realistic rifles. I was all about Cobra, ninjas, and crazy sci-fi weapons and vehicles, but being raised on Red Dawn and Cold War movies, I also loved Warsaw Pact weapons and vehicles.

G.I. Joe was my favorite cartoon while growing up in the 80s. They were a global, diverse group of specialists that fought against one evil organization that wanted world domination, Cobra.

I loved the wacky vehicles in the cartoons so when I saw them in toy form at KayBee Toys or ToysR'Us, I wanted them.

I'm dumbfounded as to how it fell off so hard to the point that the media and toy industry titan that Hasbro is now can't replicate that magic for young kids through all the various forms of media that is available now.

Let me clarify.
The local station (in North Dakota) re ran the Mass Device on Saturday all in one shot for the kids who missed it like myself that Monday thru Friday.

I had heard ridiculous things about the cartoon on Thursday from the other kids. I didn't believe any of it. Erupting volcanos? Sea monsters? this isn't GIJOE, I thought. I was a little dumbfounded that Saturday afternoon.
At that point I was reading Hama and there were no sea monsters etc. in the comic.

Later on Bozo the clown aired both GIJOE and Transformers in short clips.

Otherwise, yes Joe was syndicated and ran Mon-Thurs 330 to 430 PM in a Hasbro block with Transformers.

GI Joe is a lot like MOTU for me; a combination of fun and honor. Heroes with a witty sense of humor but deep down they're modern-day knights who adhere to a code of honor. Much like the military, their motto is do the right thing, which is often not the same as doing the easy thing.